Above-ground fluid storage tanks are commonly required at oilfield production sites to store fluids such as, for example, water used in hydraulic fracturing operations, or oil, gas, or produced water that flows out of a completed well. Since such tanks may be susceptible to leakage or corrosion-induced catastrophic failure, a surrounding secondary containment unit is often necessary to contain leakage from one or more tanks. A containment unit is typically built at an oilfield production site, and may be constructed using a dirt berm, steel containment structures, concrete traffic-type barriers, or any combination thereof. However, the dirt berm may be permeable to the fluids that it is meant to contain and may not protect the surrounding environment. Steel containment structures may suffer from several flaws such as, for example, heavy weight, susceptibility to corrosion and leakage, and the need for the application of a protective coating of epoxy or polyurea. Concrete traffic-type barriers are also very heavy and may be permeable to the contained fluid and therefore suffer from some of the same drawbacks as steel containment structures.
Above-ground fluid storage tanks are typically made of steel or fiberglass. Such tanks are very heavy, and require heavy equipment on-site for construction and installation, as well as an exceptionally sturdy ground anchoring system. Additionally, steel tank walls are susceptible to corrosion from the contained fluids, often causing structural failure, and include multiple attachment points that are susceptible to leakage. Steel tanks also need to be coated with epoxy or polyurea after construction to deter this leakage and corrosion. This coating process is complicated and expensive. Fiberglass tanks are typically constructed in a monolithic fashion and, while not as susceptible to leakage as steel tanks, they are not widely used due to increased flammability as well as susceptibility to wind damage or destruction, particularly when the tank is empty or partially empty. Due to their lack of rigidity, fiberglass tanks tend to bulge when fluids are placed into them. This makes obtaining a standard measure of their contents difficult by current industry standards. Fiberglass tanks also experience a static charge buildup on the interior of the tank body as a result of fluid movement inside the tank. The buildup of static electricity can create a fire or explosion threat.
Therefore, what is needed is an apparatus or method that addresses one or more of the above-described issues, and/or one or more other issues.